Surgical centers and hospitals have stocks of surgical instruments commonly used in surgery for treating pelvic floor disorders. In the urology field, needles, suture passers and ligature carriers are commonly available. Examples of such surgical instruments include Stamey needles, Raz needles, and Pereyra needles. See Stamey, Endoscopic Suspension of the Vesical Neck for Urinary Incontinence in Females, Ann. Surgery, pp. 465–471, October 1980; and Pereyra, A Simplified Surgical Procedure for the Correction of Stress Incontinence in Women, West. J. Surg., Obstetrics & Gynecology, pp. 243–246, July–August 1959.
A pubovaginal sling procedure is a surgical method involving the placement of a sling to stabilize or support the bladder neck or urethra. There are a variety of different sling procedures. Descriptions of different sling procedures and surgical articles used therein are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,112,344; 5,611,515; 5,842,478; 5,860,425; 5,899,909; 6,039,686; 6,042,534 and 6,110,101.
Some prior art needles include a metal needle and an integral metal handle. Some users consider such needles to be top heavy or imbalanced. During some surgical procedures, the needles may be partially inserted in the body and released, as the surgeon concentrates on a different aspect of the surgery. In such instances a top heavy needle may deflect or deviate from its intended placement, potentially damaging tissue or causing other undesirable consequences.